Wahine need to be better tonight or BYU will advance

It’s really pretty simple. Play like it did most of Friday night and who knows how far the University of Hawaii volleyball team can go.

Play like they did in the second set against Idaho State and BYU will put an end to the Rainbow Wahine postseason.

It had better be The Good Wahine against BYU tonight — the entire match — or UH can forget about advancing to the third round in Los Angeles next week.

"They’re sixth in the country in blocking," Shoji said of BYU, which improved to 23-6 by beating ASU. "We have to hit smart, have to run the middle. Ball-control and out-pass them."

Basic stuff, and stuff the Wahine did most of the match against the Bengals, except for that dreaded second stanza.

"We need to stay focused the whole time," Emily Hartong said.

When Shoji talked about how tough Idaho State would be the other day, I did the "Yeah, yeah, yeah, OK," thing in my head. Just coach-speak from a heavy favorite the day before the start of the tournament.

He was right. It takes a rugged, mentally tough team to deal with not only the vaunted Rainbow Wahine but also a full arena of UH fans. Loud and proud, as it should be at the Stan Sheriff Center, especially with the Wahine riding high in the first set.

But something not so funny for Hawaii happened on the way to what looked to be an easy sweep.

As solid as UH was in winning the first set 25-16, the Rainbow Wahine efficiency went missing in the second. You name it — serving, receiving, passing, hitting … after a final lead of 5-4 on a Hartong change-up, Hawaii’s game disappeared into the night.

Back-to-back receiving errors by the usually dependable Ali Longo and then Tai Manu-Olevao led to a plethora of other mistakes.

The Bengals took full advantage, quelling the raucous crowd in the process.

"Obviously they did a nice job of regrouping, so you’ve got to give them a little credit," Shoji said.

Still, it was clear most of Hawaii’s wounds were self-inflicted. ISU won 25-19, but it looked a lot worse for Hawaii.

Now, if you have to be absolutely terrible it might as well be in the second set. "I don’t know if I stayed calm," Shoji said of his talk to the team during the break. "I wanted (the team) to have a sense of urgency."

The coaches and players also addressed some tactics, including ISU’s middles running wild.

After intermission, the UH of the first set returned, but even better.

Hartong took over with crushing kills, especially of Idaho State mistakes. Manu-Olevao pitched in with some consistent hitting from outside. Better passing gave setter Mita Uiato more options and the Bengals more headaches.

Sarah Mendoza served forever, the Wahine smelling blood, blasting bomb after bomb. After the 25-12 demolition, the fourth set was merely a formality.

"We tend to let down when we win a game easy," Shoji said. "We’ve done that all year."

It’s a tendency Hawaii can’t afford tonight.

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Read Dave Reardon’s Quick Reads at staradvertiser.com/quickreads.